The Ekiti state Government has appealed to military authorities to restore the highway checkpoints recently dismantled in the state.
Deputy Governor, Chief Bisi Egbeyemi made the appeal while on a familiarisation visit to officials and members of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the state chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Ado Ekiti.
Egbeyemi said the checkpoints are necessary with the upsurge of crimes, such as kidnapping and robbery on the highways.
He said the government was concerned that the military withdrew its men from checkpoints on flashpoint routes, such as Ado Ekiti-Itawure Road, Ikere Ekiti- Ise Road as well as Ifaki Ekiti- Emure Road, among others, for reasons yet unknown to government.
”We urge the military to please return their men to those security checkpoints that have now been closed down and their men withdrawn,” Egbeyemi said.
”The military are the only ones that the robbers and other criminals fear most. Their withdrawal is capable of exposing our people to danger. Already some concerned residents are beginning to develop apprehension about the development and it is our duty to reassure them that there is no cause for alarm.
“We know the importance of the soldiers and we are ready as a state to do anything that will make them comfortable. It us our belief that there is no amount spent in securing lives and property that is too much. This government do value lives and will do anything to protect lives of our people.
“We want the good people of Ekiti state to know that the present administration will not joke with anything that can threaten their peace and that of their legitimate businesses. That is why we are ready to do anything that can guarantee their welfare and wellbeing,” he said.
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